By Mia Hanuska
Foods with artificial dyes are chosen for their distinctive appearance, but the chemicals that comprise these eye-catching colors are distinctively toxic. Throughout the years, the restriction and label requirements of artificial food dyes has been a hot topic due to the negative symptoms they can cause. From cancer and behavior problems, to straight-out being manufactured from toxic materials, consumption of artificial colors is highly discussed across the world. Artificial food dyes cause behavior problems in children, therefore companies should be required to add a label warning parents about their negative effects.
What are synthetic food colorings, also known as artificial food dyes, and where are they found? Used throughout the food industry to make junk food more appealing (Chuck), synthetic food dyes are found in all types of foods, from cereals and candy to pickles and salad dressings (McClurg, Chuck). Red and yellow artificial food dyes are made of naphthalene (Hofseth), a chemical compound derived from crude oil and coal tar and found in cigarette smoke, car exhaust, and pesticides (National Center for Biotechnology Information). Naphthalene isn’t even approved as a pesticide in the EU due to the hazards it causes to one’s health. One reason artificial food colorings are used instead of naturally sourced options is because they are brighter, cheaper, and last longer on shelves than their natural counterparts (Poinski). The Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, has created safe levels to seemingly keep kids safe, however they are “not adequate to protect children” according to the Center of Science in the Public Interest, or CSPI (Schleicher). In fact, a 2016 study found that in a North Carolinian supermarket, over 40% of food products marketed to children contained artificial dyes (Hofseth). Ultimately, synthetic food colorings are additives in food mainly marketed to children.
These unnecessary artificial colors cause behavior problems in children. A study made by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Association, or OEHHA, found that artificial dyes make children inattentive, hyperactive, and restless (Chuck). Out of the 27 studies analyzed, roughly 64 percent showed a link between synthetic food dyes and behavioral problems in children. The OEHHA and CSPI have collected data showing the relationship since the 1970s to the present. Additionally, 5 out 6 of the studies conducted after 1990 have reported “statistically significant results” Elizabeth Chuck states in her article, “Artificial Food Dyes May Cause Behavior Problems. A Bill Aims to Warn Parents” (Chuck). Over 80 percent of the studies conducted show the connection, and the Lancet reports “artificial colors in the diet result[ed] in [the] increase hyperactivity in…children in the general population” (McCann). This shows there is not only a relationship, but that food dyes directly result in behavior problems. Although all kids are affected, children who have ADHD are estimated to be 5-10 percent more likely to be impacted by food colorings (Nigg). Undoubtedly, children’s behavior problems can be caused and worsened by synthetic dyes.
Children can be kept safer by warning parents with labels on foods with artificial dyes. Parents have the responsibility to keep their children safe, and labels aim to educate them. After conducting their own studies, the European Union, a political group of 27 European countries, adopted the practice of labels with a simple warning in 2008. This has resulted in natural dyes becoming frequent occurrences in food products sold in European countries as labels could make consumers hesitant to purchase foods with synthetic dyes, resulting in companies in Europe leaning away from them (Scott-Thomas). Natural colorings are a great option to replace artificial dyes as they are derived from natural sources such as beet, spirulina, and blackcurrant, and some even offer more vibrant colors than the artificial ones (Poinski). Additionally, artificial dye labels would hopefully have a similar effect as labels such as “organic” and “GMO-free”. According to a study from Pew Research Center, “people’s food philosophies are…closely connected to purchases of organic foods and foods labeled GMO-free” (Funk and Kennedy). Hopefully, these labels will soon be implemented in the United States as well. A California bill introduced by Senator Bob Wieckowski promised a label requirement on foods containing synthetic dyes sold in California. While this wasn’t an outright ban on artificial colors, it required more information about what effects synthetic dyes can have on the consumer. Unfortunately, it was pulled from the legislative process because Senator Wieckowski believes the bill “would be placed in a better position by waiting” (Wieckowski) and hopes to spread awareness about the bill before its reintroduction. All in all, warning labels about the effects of the dyes should be required on foods with synthetic dyes; or the dyes should be replaced with natural options.
Many still believe artificial dyes aren’t damaging due to the FDA, or the Food and Drug Administration, however this is blatantly untrue. The FDA has continued its stance on synthetic color since 2011, stating there is no “link between children’s consumption of synthetic additives and behavior effects had not been established,” which directly contrasts over five separate sources and studies. The FDA does however acknowledge a correlation between the two. In a statement to the NBC, the FDA expressed that some other studies “suggest that for certain susceptible children with ADHD and other behavior problems, their condition may be exacerbated by several food colors, due to a unique intolerance or sensitivity” (Chuck). Simply put, they express that children with previously existing behavioral difficulties can be affected by artificial dyes. But this is not completely true. Children and adults can both be affected by symptoms of synthetic dyes. Studies conducted by Lorn Hofseth and her team at the Center for Colon Cancer Research have found artificial colorings to lead to cancer-causing processes in the body, binding to DNA and protein inside cells. Hofseth discovered that synthetic dyes stimulate the “body’s inflammatory machinery” which can result in colon and rectal cancers (Hofseth). Simply getting screened and indulging in a healthy diet avoiding food colorings can lower the risk of developing the aforementioned cancers. The FDA has neither acknowledged this fact nor two petitions by CSPI, one from 2008 and one from 2011. The former petition aimed to ban multiple synthetic food dyes, require warning labels, test new food additives, and correct misinformation about the synthetic dyes’ effects. The more recent petition took a simpler approach, only attempting to gain warnings on food packages for the effects of unnatural dyes. Instead, the FDA inappropriately focuses on consumers’ sensitivity rather than regulation, asking customers to check food ingredients. Many who oppose food dyes, including CSPI, also argue that the FDA’s “‘safe levels’… are ‘not adequate to protect children’” (Schleicher). With over 40 percent of products marketed to children containing food dyes, children consume a great amount of these unnecessary dyes which is unhealthy for a growing child’s diet. The main problem scientists have run into is the ethicality of studies and researching. It simply is not humane to expose children to pure artificial dyes to separate the dyes from sugars (Chuck). In the end, although the FDA maintains its stance about the harmlessness of artificial food dyes and how they are not linked to behavioral changes, it’s time to change the law to keep children safe.
Ultimately, synthetic colorings are unnecessarily used in foods and are dangerous to one’s health, resulting in behavioral problems and cancer-causing processes in the body. Therefore warning labels should be required on all products containing these toxic additives and companies should switch to naturally occurring dyes, a great alternative for synthetic ones. Natural food dyes create healthier, safer colors with the same vibrancy as those derived from naphthalene. Although they may seem expensive compared to their synthetic counterparts, the more companies that switch to solely using natural colors, the less expensive they will become. Hopefully, educating about the adverse effects and reducing the amount of synthetic food dyes our society consumes will improve the way we approach color-filled foods. To initiate this, consumers must urge companies to change their ingredients and ideals and to avoid products containing artificial dyes.
Works Cited
Chuck, Elizabeth. “Artificial food dyes may cause behavior problems. A bill aims to warn parents.” NBC News, Dec. 21 2021, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/artificial-food-dyes-may-cause-behavior-problems-bill-aims-warn-parent-rcna5989. Accessed 20 January 2022.
European Union, European Food Safety Authority. “Food Colors.” https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/topics/topic/food-colours#activities. Accessed 4 March 2022.
Funk, Cary and Brian Kennedy. “The New Food Fights: U.S. Public Divides Over Food Science”, Pew Research Center, 1 December 2016.
Hofseth, Lorne. “How Much Risk Do Synthetic Food Dyes Actually Pose to Your Health? Here’s The Science.” Science Alert, Dec. 12 2021, https://www.sciencealert.com/just-how-much-of-a-risk-do-synthetic-food-dyes-pose-to-your-health-a-researcher-weighs-in#. Accessed 20 January 2022.
McCann, Donna, et al. “Food additives and hyperactive behaviour in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the community: a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial.” The Lancet, vol. 370, no. 9598, 2007, pp. 1560-1567, https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(07)61306-3/fulltext. Accessed 11 February 2022.
McClurg, Lesley. “Artificial Food Coloring Triggers Hyperactivity in Some Kids, California Report Finds.” KQED, Apr. 28 2021, https://www.kqed.org/science/1974271/artificial-food-coloring-triggers-hyperactivity-in-some-kids-california-report-finds. Accessed 20 January 2022.
National Center for Biotechnology Information. “PubChem Compound Summary for CID 931, Naphthalene” PubChem, https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Naphthalene. Accessed 20 May 2022.
Nigg, Joel T et al. “Meta-analysis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms, restriction diet, and synthetic food color additives.” Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry vol. 51,1 (2012): 86-97.e8. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2011.10.015.
Poinski, Megan. “Big Food hit pause on switching to natural colors. What will it take to make the shift?” Food Dive, June 3, 2021, https://www.fooddive.com/news/natural-colors-switch-food-artificial-colors/600846/. Accessed 20 January 2022.
Schleicher, Anni. “Some synthetic food dyes may negatively affect children’s behavior, finds California study.” Food Ingredients 1st, 19 April 2021, https://www.foodingredientsfirst.com/news/some-synthetic-food-dyes-may-negatively-affect-childrens-behavior-finds-california-study.html. Accessed 20 January 2022.
Scott-Thomas, Caroline. “Natural and organic trends drive European food colourings growth.” Confectionary News, 8 October 2014, https://www.confectionerynews.com/Article/2014/10/08/Natural-and-organic-trends-drive-European-food-colourings-growth. Accessed 23 March 2022.
Wieckowski, Bob. Letter to Mia Hanuska. 15 April 2022. Personal collection of Mia Hanuska.